Derek Ellerman (born June 27, 1978) is an American social entrepreneur. He was a co-founder of

Polaris Project Polaris is a nonprofit non-governmental organization that works to combat and prevent sex and labor trafficking in North America. The organization's 10-year strategy is built around the understanding that human trafficking does not happen in ...

, a

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

-based nonprofit organization that combats human trafficking and

modern slavery Contemporary slavery, also sometimes known as modern slavery or neo-slavery, refers to institutional slavery that continues to occur in present-day society. Estimates of the number of enslaved people today range from around 38 million to 46 mil ...

. In 2004, he was selected as a Fellow by

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

. Ellerman is the co-publisher of the intersectional feminist website Everyday Feminism.

Educational background

Derek Ellerman attended Brown University, graduating in 2002, with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

Cognitive Neuroscience Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific field that is concerned with the study of the biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with a specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental process ...

Professional background

While an undergraduate student at Brown University, Ellerman established the Center for Police and Community (CPAC), an organization that addressed issues of

police misconduct Police misconduct refers to inappropriate conduct and illegal actions taken by police officers in connection with their official duties. Types of misconduct include among others: coerced false confession, intimidation, false arrest, false impri ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

. At CPAC, Ellerman served as the Executive Director and worked to support individual victims of police abuse. He assisted in successfully advocating for the creation of the first civilian review board for law enforcement in the state of Rhode Island. In 2002, during his senior year at Brown, Ellerman co-founded

with

Katherine Chon Katherine Chon is the co-founder of Polaris Project in the United States. She started the organization immediately upon graduation with fellow Brown University student Derek Ellerman in 2002 after learning about the issue during her undergradua ...

after reading an article in a local paper about a fake massage business, the conditions of which were close to slavery. Located in the United States, Polaris Project works to address and combat all forms of human trafficking, while providing programs and services to help all victims throughout the country.

References

External links

Congressional Testimony, 2004

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellerman, Derek Living people Ashoka USA Fellows 1978 births Anti–human trafficking activists Social entrepreneurs Ellerman, Derek